Dart gauge



July 16, 1968 G. L. POPE 3,392,691

DART GAUGE Filed Oct. 26, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR GLENN L.POPE

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ATTORNEYS INVENTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet B G. L. POPE DART GAUGE GLENN L- Po s WasouF-gwLdwD 01m mo ATTORNEYS United States Patent Oflice 3,392,691 Patented July 16, 1968 3,392,691 DART GAUGE Glenn L. Pope, Nebraska City, Nehr., assignor to Pendleton Woolen Mills, Portland, Oreg., a corporation of Oregon Filed Oct. 26, 1964, Ser. No. 406,490 4 Claims. (Cl. 112153) dartsin garment after garment, and, here again, there is difficulty in achieving uniformity. A further problem is the necessity of producing a predetermined area reduction by means of a stated number of darts. The usual solution to this problem has been pre-marking the material to provide tthe operator with visual aids in form- I ing darts in the proper place, the proper depth and the proper length. This usually calls for an extra step in production, and the use of additional personnel.

The object of the present invention is to provide a gauge, or guide, which can be attached to a sewing machine to assist an operator in properly forming darts.

Another object is the provision of a gauge ofthis nature which will incorporate a guide surface to ensure formation of darts of uniform depth.

A further object is to'provide such a gauge which is adjustable to a plurality of settings to assist in making darts of different depths.

Yet another object is to provide an auxiliary gauge for use in determining properspacing between darts.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one practical embodiment thereof, when .taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany,. and form part of, this specification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a sewing machine showing .the gauge of the present invention in place thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the gauge mounted on the sewing machine;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the guage with the parts separated to show their construction;

FIGURE 5 is a view, similar to FIGURE 2, illustrating the manner of using the gauge to form a dart;

FIGURE 6 shows a piece of material folded and stitched in the first step of forming a dart; and

FIGURE 7 shows the material and dart in the finished stage.

In general, the gauge of the present invention includes a plate having a material guide surface, which can be fixed to a sewing machine bed with the guide surface parallel to a plane including the machine needle and stitching line. More specifically, the gauge may include a mounting plate fixed to the machine bed and a guide plate adjustably mounted upon the base plate to position the guide surface at different distances from the above mentioned plane. In addition, there may be a dart spacing gauge removably mounted on the machine bed adjacent the needle position.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the gauge 1 is shown attached to a conventional sewing machine 2. The machine may be any of the commercial types used for making darts, or it may be a conventional home type 2 machine. Insofar as the present invention is concerned, it need not be, described beyond stating that it has the usual flat bed 3, sewing head 4, needle 5 and material feed means 6. i

The dart 'gauge is shown as having three parts, a base plate 7, a guide plate 8 and a spacing indicator 9. The base plate may be made of any suitable material, and is of general rectangular shape, notched as at 10, at one forward corner to permit the plate to project along one side of the needle position, and further recessed, as at 11, to seat the spacing indicator 9. Two, or more, openings 12 permit passage of screws 13 to rigidly fix the plate to the machine bed. The openings are preferably aligned transversely of the plate for a purpose to be described. The base plate has a plurality of longitudinally extending, parallel, spaced score lines 14 to provide a gauge scale for adjusting the guide plate, as will be explained. The score lines 14 are arranged parallel to a verticalplane which includes the machineneedle 5 and the stitch line, indicated at 15 in FIGURE 5, as fed forward from the needle by action of the feed means 6. Thus, the score lines 14 are parallel to any straight stitch line made by the machine.

Guide plate 8 is considerably smaller than the base plate, and it, too, is generally rectangular, being relieved at the corner adjacent the needle by a notch 16 to prevent interference with the needle or presser foot 17 when the guide plate is adjusted toward the needle. An elongated slot 18 extends from one side edge of the plate laterally across the greater part of the width of the plate. One, or more, screws 19 extend through the slot 18 into openings 20 in the base plate. By loosening the screws, the guide plate can be adjusted lateraliy of the base plate toward and from the machine needle. A plurality of openings'20 are provided in the base plate so that screws 19 can be shifted as necessary to change the adjustment range. The guide plate is provided with a groove 21 in its underface to accommodate the heads of screws 13 which secure the base plate to the machine bed. The groove 21 is parallel to slot 18 so that the groove may move freely over screws 13 during adjustment of the guide plate. A datum line 22 is marked on the guide plate for alignment with selected score markings of the scale 14 for setting the gauge for predetermined dart depths. The guide plate is preferably made of a transparent material, so that the lines of scale 14 will. be visible through the guide plate.

The longitudinal edge of the guide plate adjacent the needle is rabbeted to provide a guide groove 23, to receive the folded material edge and guide it during the stitching of the dart. The groove bottom 24 will guide the material edge, and, if desired, the straight plate edge 25 may be used as a finger guide during advance of the material to the needle.

Spacing indicator 9 is in the form of a rectangular plate 26 having mounting prongs 27 projecting from its bottom for insertion into openings 28 in the machine bed. On the upper surface of the plate, there are several knobs, or raised members, 29 spaced to indicate the distance between darts. These can be felt beneath the material by the operator for marking the position of the next dart point. Different spacing indicators may be provided for different spacings of the knobs from the needle and from one another.

In using the gauge, the material 30 in which one, or more, darts are to be made is either p re-marked to indicate the location and length of the first dart, or a mark 31 may be made on the top surface of the guide plate 8 adjacent the edge 25 to use as a length marker if preferred. If the mark 31 is to be used, the material will be folded at the position for the first dart, as shown in FIG- URE 5, and the folded material edge 32 inserted in the groove 23 intoabutment with the groove bottom 24, with the material edge beneath the mark 31. The material is then rotated to bring the fold edge, or dart point to the needle position. This will position the fabric at the proper angle for stitching onto the material at the dart point to obtain a dart of the depth for which the gauge is set. With the material in this position, stitching can begin. The feed 6 will automatically advance the material, and the proper angle can be maintained by the operator holding the fold edge against the groove bottom with a finger against the guide plate edge 25. The operators finger, moving along the edge 25, will automatically maintain the proper material angle, When the machine has completed the stitching 33 and sewn off the material edge, the next fold will be made at the point indicated by the position of the adjacent knob 29 on the spacing indicator 9. The material, after folding, is moved back into the above described starting position for the next stitching operation.

The above operations can be repeated as many times as necessary to form the required number of darts. The dart depth can be varied at'will'by adjusting the guide plate to the right to increase the depth, or to the left to reduce the depth. If a diifernt length dart is desired, the mark 31 may be erased and another mark made at the new location.

With the gauge of the present invention, uniformly spaced darts of uniform size will be formed. The gauge can be adjusted quite simply to modify the dart size. Use of the gauge will speed up commercial production materially, and will enable amateur seamstresses to obtain professional appearances whenever they are required to make darts.

When one practical embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it will be understood that the precise details of construction shown and described are for purposes of illustration only, and the invention can take other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

.1. A dart gauge for use with a sewing machine having means for advancing material along a predetermined stitch path comprising, a guide plate having a straight guide edge, and means for mounting the guide plate with the guide edge parallel to the stitch path, the guide plate being undercut along the guide edge to provide a recess in which a fold of material may be inserted, the recess having a bottom parallel to the guide edge along which the fold of the material may slide to maintain a material fold angle relative to the stitch path to produce a dart of predetermined depth.

2. A dart gauge as'claimed in' claim 1 wherein, the means to mount the guide plate will permit positioning the guide plate with the guide edge at different distances from the stitch path.

3. A dart gauge for use Witha sewing machine having means for advancing material along a predetermined stitch path comprising, a base plate, meansto attach the base plate to the sewing machine adjacent the stitch path, a gauge scale on the base plate having a plurality of spaced lines parallel to one another and the stitch path, a guide plate having a guide edge, a datum indicator on the guide plate, means for releasably mounting the guide plate'on the base plate with the datum indicator in registry with selected lines of the base plate gauge scale and the guide edge parallel to the stitch path, the guide plate being undercut along the guide edge to provide a recess in which a fold of material may be inserted, the recess having a bottom parallel to the guide edge along which the fold of material may slide to maintain a material fold angle relative to the stitch path to produce a dart of predetermined depth.

4. A dart gauge for use with'a sewing machine having means for advancing material along a predetermined stitch path comprising, a base plate, means to attach the base plate to the sewing machine adjacent the stitch path, a gauge scale on the base plate comprising a plurality of spaced lines parallel to one another and the stitch path, a guide plate having a guide edge, a datum indicator on the guide plate, means for releasably mounting the guide plate on the base plate with the datum indicator in registry with selected lines of the base plate gauge scale and the guide edge parallel to the stitch path, and a spacer indicator adjacent the base plate, the spacer indicator having protrusions thereon spaced equidistant from the stitch path and from each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 73,759 1/1868 Scranton ll2-153 312,196 2/1885 Freeman 112136 620,418 2/1899 Chatfield 112-153 1,027,009 5/1912 Smeja l12153 XR 1,525,194 2/1925 Maislein l12136 1,911,190 5/1933 Harrison et al 112144 2,814,116 11/1957 Goodman 33-190 X-R 2,954,000 9/1960 Gray 1l2153 XR 3,028,822 4/1962 Hollister et a1. 112--153 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DART GAUGE FOR USE WITH A SEWING MACHINE HAVING MEANS FOR ADVANCING MATERIAL ALONG A PREDETERMINED STITCH PATH COMPRISING, A GUIDE PLATE HAVING A STRAIGHT GUIDE EDGE, AND MEANS FOR MOUNTING THE GUIDE PLATE WITH THE GUIDE EDGE PARALLEL TO THE STITCH PATH, THE GUIDE PLATE BEING UNDERCUT ALONG THE GUIDE EDGE TO PROVIDE A RECESS IN WHICH A FOLD OF MATERIAL MAY BE INSERTED, THE RECESS HAVING A BOTTOM PARALLEL TO THE GUIDE EDGE ALONG WHICH THE FOLD OF THE MATERIAL MAY SLIDE TO MAINTAIN A MATERIAL FOLD ANGLE RELATIVE TO THE STITCH PATH TO PRODUCE A DART OF PREDETERMINED DEPTH. 